hitmanfandomcom-20200222-history
Square Enix Europe
Square Enix Europe Ltd. is a British publisher of video game software wholly owned by Square Enix. Square Enix Europe was formerly known as Eidos plc, when it was the holding company for the Eidos group of companies, including United Kingdom video game publisher Eidos Interactive, which is responsible for the Tomb Raider and Hitman games, among others. It is the successor to Square Enix Ltd. and Eidos Interactive and will distribute and publish both Eidos and Square Enix's games under the Square Enix label. After the takeover of Eidos plc, Namco Bandai Partners handed over the Australian distribution rights of Eidos to Ubisoft Australia, which have a distribution deal with Square Enix. Background After a successful takeover by Square Enix which came into effect on 22 April 2009, shares of Eidos officially de-listed on 21 April 2009 a day before the takeover. The name Eidos plc ceased to be used following a reorganisation of the Eidos Group, after which all previous Eidos properties were published under Square Enix and Eidos Interactive now as a part of Square Enix Europe. History Beginnings as SCI Throughout the company's history it has had a number of names; known originally as The Sales Curve and later as Sales Curve Interactive, the company was founded in 1988 by Jane Cavanagh. The company published games under the label Storm from 1990 to 1993. In 1999 the company floated on the London Stock Exchange as SCI Entertainment Group PLC, using the ticker symbol SEG. Under the SCI banner, the companies most popular games were the Carmageddon and the Conflict: Desert Storm game series. SCI purchase of Eidos In 2005 the company gained ownership of Eidos, another British games company. Since then the company has been exclusively releasing games under the Eidos brand. In December 2006, Time Warner's Warner Bros. Entertainment has bought a 10.3% stake in SCI Games, including sister company, Eidos. Part of the deal between the two companies includes an arrangement with Eidos to make Warner Bros. its primary U.S. distributor, providing warehousing, logistics, merchandising and media buying services. In April 2008, Warner Bros. Entertainment increased its stake to 35% while gaining distribution rights to SCI titles in the US, Canada and Mexico. In February 2007, Eidos closed its Manchester studio which focused in Mobile games and acquired Rockpool Games, another mobile game company, along with its two sister companies Ironstone Partners and SoGoPlay. On 27 October 2008, SCI scrapped a "standstill" arrangement with Time Warner subsidiary Warner Bros. The agreement – which had been in place since April – prevented Warner Bros. from acquiring more SCI shares without the Eidos parent’s consent until January 2009. SCI said it would now allow Warner Bros to buy more shares without consultation until December 1, 2008 – providing its stake doesn't reach 30 percent. Subsequently SCI's share price rose 11%. On December 15, 2008, Time Warner purchased 10 million more shares in Eidos to bring its total to 19.92%. On 3 December 2008, SCI changed its name to Eidos Plc (the former name of Eidos prior to the SCI takeover), and also changed its London Stock Exchange ticker symbol from SEG to EID. On 15 January Eidos confirmed that it received a preliminary approach which may not lead to an offer being made for the Company. In January 2009, they closed Rockpool Games. Square Enix purchase of Eidos Eidos plc former logoOn 12 February 2009 SQEX Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Square Enix, announced a takeover offer worth £84.3 million (32p per share) for Eidos plc. The takeover is effective as of 22 April. According to Square Enix president Yoichi Wada, the company Eidos will remain independent and Phil Rogers will remain CEO of the company as its "Lifetime CEO", only answering to Yoichi Wada. On 7 July 2009, Square Enix announced the formation of its European division, officially named Square Enix Europe. The Eidos name will be cease to be used as a publisher, though existing Eidos Interactive studios will keep the name. On 10 November 2009 Square Enix officially announced that the integration of their European operations as well as Eidos has been completed and the two entities will merge into one under the name of Square Enix Europe and will operate under the business name of Square Enix Ltd. This means that future titles by Eidos will no longer be published under the Eidos brand but Square Enix instead. Square Enix Europe will publish all games developed by Square Enix, Eidos and Taito. It will also manages various development studios namely Crystal Dynamics, IO Interactive, Beautiful Game Studios, Square Enix London Studios and Eidos Montréal. Studios Current *Crystal Dynamics in Redwood City, California, founded in 1992, acquired in 1998. *IO Interactive in Copenhagen, Denmark, founded in 1998. *Eidos Montreal in Canada, founded in 2007 *Beautiful Game Studios in London, England, started in 2003 *Eidos Shanghai in China, started in 2008 Part-owned *''Rocksteady (25.1%)'' Defunct *Eidos Hungary in Hungary, founded in 2005, closed October 2009. *Pivotal Games in Bath, England, founded in March 2000, acquired by SCi on Sep 29, 2003, closed August 22, 2008. *Core Design in Derby, England, founded in 1988, acquired by Eidos on 1996, closed 11 May 2006. *Ion Storm Inc. in Texas, founded in 1996, acquired by Eidos on July 2001, closed February 9, 2005. Games SCI *''Alfred's Adventure'' *''Aqua Aqua'' *''Carmageddon'' *''Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now'' *''Carmageddon TDR 2000'' *''Conflict: Desert Storm'' *''Conflict: Desert Storm 2'' *''Conflict: Global Terror'' *''Conflict: Vietnam'' *''Constantine'' *''Cool Bricks'' *''Cyberwar'' *''Futurama'' *''Frenzy'' *''Galleon'' *''Gender Wars'' *''Gumball 3000'' *''Kingdom O' Magic'' *''Live Wire'' *''Mille Miglia'' *''Rally Championship'' *''Rally Championship Xtreme'' *''Richard Burns Rally'' *''Rolling'' *''Spellcross'' *''SWIV'' *''SWIV 3D'' *''The Great Escape'' *''The Italian Job'' *''The Lawnmower Man'' *''Thunderbirds'' *''Total Overdose'' Eidos Interactive Battlestations series *''Battlestations: Midway'' - 2007 *''Battlestations: Pacific'' - 2009 Championship Manager series *''Championship Manager 2010'' (latest) - 2009 Deus Ex series *''Deus Ex'' - 2000 *''Deus Ex: Invisible War'' - 2003 Fear Effect series *''Fear Effect'' - 2000 *''Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix'' - 2001 *''Fear Effect Inferno'' - Cancelled in 2003 Hitman series *''Hitman: Codename 47'' - 2000 *''Hitman 2: Silent Assassin'' - 2002 *''Hitman: Contracts'' - 2004 *''Hitman: Blood Money'' - 2006 Just Cause series *''Just Cause'' - 2006 *''Just Cause 2'' - 2010 Kane & Lynch series *''Kane & Lynch: Dead Men'' - 2007 *''Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days'' - 2010 Legacy of Kain series *''Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain'' - 1996 *''Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver'' - 1999 *''Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2'' - 2001 *''Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain'' - 2002 *''Legacy of Kain: Defiance'' - 2003 Shellshock series *''Shellshock: Nam '67'' - 2004 *''Shellshock 2: Blood Trails'' - 2009 Thief series *''Thief: The Dark Project'' - 1998 *''Thief II: The Metal Age'' - 2000 *''Thief: Deadly Shadows'' - 2004 Tomb Raider series *''Tomb Raider: Underworld'' - 2008 *''Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light'' - 2010 Licensed Games *''Wacky Races: Crash and Dash - 2008'' *''Top Trumps: Doctor Who - 2008'' *''Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures - 2008'' *''Batman: Arkham Asylum - 2009'' Others *''Fighting Force'' *''Fighting Force 2'' *''Project Eden'' - 2001 *''TimeSplitters'' - 2000 *''TimeSplitters 2'' - 2002 *''Whiplash'' - 2003 *''Project Snowblind'' - 2005 *''Soul Bubbles'' - 2008 *''Monster Lab'' - 2008 *''Mini Ninjas'' - 2009 Category:Development Team Category:Companies